NASA Selects 28 Participating Scientists for Mars Rover Mission

NASA has selected 28 scientists for participation in the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Mission, including four from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The mission consists of two separate, though identical, rovers scheduled for launch in mid-2003 and arrival at separate destinations on Mars in early 2004.

The selected proposals were judged to have the best science value among 84 proposals submitted to NASA last December in response to the Mars Exploration Rover Announcement of Opportunity. Each selected investigation will work with the Mars Exploration Rover Program Office at JPL, and will become full mission science-team members, joining previously selected scientists as part of the Athena payload science team.

"The breadth, scope, and creativity of the scientists selected is very encouraging," said Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for space science, Washington, D.C. "By directly participating in NASA?s next mission to the surface of Mars, they will help bring us closer to the long-term objective of our Mars Exploration Program -- understanding Mars as a planet and determining whether life ever existed there."

The rover mission science objectives include:

1. study rocks and soils for clues to past water activity;
2. investigate landing sites that have a high probability of containing evidence of the action of liquid water;
3. determine the distribution and composition of minerals, rocks and soils surrounding the landing sites;
4. determine the nature of local surface geologic processes;
5. calibrate and validate data from orbiting missions at each landing site; and
6. study the geologic processes for clues about the environmental conditions that existed when liquid water was present, and whether those environments were conducive for life.

The four JPL scientists selected are:

William M. Folkner; Measurement of Mars Rotation Changes with the Mars Exploration Rovers